Star Wars: The Great War

by Iroa19

The Clone War was a time that many remember. Many battles were fought, and many lives and people we knew were lost. All across the galaxy, the battle between the force's light and the dark side is at constant ends. War has engulfed everybody as the bitter conflict between the Galactic Republic and Separatist rages on.

99. Chapter 98: Disharmony Pt 1

Chapter 98: Disharmony Pt. 1

A figure was shown as they were in some maze garden. An object was planted in front as six individuals took a step back. In front of the group of warriors was a stone statue that was a weird shape due to the thing it was shaped in.

The group leader stepped forward as he glared at the stone statue.

"Tu dormies in aeternum diaboli!" spoke the leader as he gave one last scowl at the figure.

He and his friends all stood there as they began to glow, each having a magical symbol appear as it resembled the Elements of Harmony. They cast a spell as it engulfed the stone statue. Once that was done, they all began to leave as they had to rebuild. The figure was shown once more as this time, its face was shown to be that of some mutated serpent-creature.

(Many, many years later)

Cheerilee was currently leading a group of kids along a garden maze as they were on a field trip. Rarity and Dash insisted that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo go with Applejack's class on the field trip. It seemed both girls liked the idea as it allowed them to explore more of Twilight's homeworld.

"I want to start our field trip here," said Cheerilee as she led the kids along the area. "in the world-famous Canterlot sculpture garden. That one over there represents "Friendship"..." It was then three familiar girls walked by a statue of three girls standing on top of each other. Applebloom stopped to look at the statue, causing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to bump into her. What was supposed to be a wonderful time with each other was quite the opposite. All day, they had been getting on each other's nerves.

"All right, everyone," said Cheerilee, "This one represents Victory. And this one..." the teacher led the kids to a statue as it was the mutated serpent stone figure. "Now, this is an interesting statue. What do you notice about it?"

"It's got an eagle claw!" said Applebloom.

"And a lion paw!" stated Scootaloo.

"And a snake tail!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle.

"This creature is called a draconequus. They have a horse's head, and a body made up of all sorts of things. Many years ago, they roamed about in the ancient time of Equis. But look at it; what do you suppose it represents?" asked Cheerilee.

"Confusion!" said Applebloom.

"Evil!" interjected Sweetie Belle as she shoved into the farm girl.

"Chaos!" shouted Scootaloo, shoving Applebloom into Sweetie Belle.

"It's not chaos, you dodo!" stated Sweetie Belle to her friend.

"Don't call me things I don't know the meaning of," shouted Scoots, "and it is chaos!"

"Is not!" yelled Sweetie.

"You're both wrong!" retorted Applebloom before they all began to wrestle with each other.

A cloud of smoke appeared around them as they began to fight. Cheerilee just rolled her eyes and shook her head at them. Unaware of her or other students, the statue's heart began to glow twice.

"Actually, in a way, you're all right," said Cheerilee, making the three girls stop fighting each other as the rest of the students around them just glared, "This statue represents: Discord. Which means a lack of harmony between people." The three girls smiled.

"Now let's go, stated Cheerilee, "and I don't want any more fighting!" Cheerilee began to lead the group of students away.

"It's confusion!" whispered Applebloom under her breath.

"Evil!" said Sweetie Belle in a quiet tone.

"Chaos!" Scootaloo added.

Little did they know that their continued fighting had seemed to have the "Discord" statue to crack. A burst of devious laughter could be heard as something terrible was about to be brought back to life. Were the three girls the cause? They may have sped up the release process, but the draconequus had already obtained the power he needed to escape from another source.

The stone lion's paw cracked before it broke. Revealing an actual lion paw as it wiggled around to get a feel. The statue was now grinning as words were spoken.

"Tempus aliquot amet!"

---

Storm was tapping his hand against the counter to the tune of a song he couldn't remember. Business wasn't booming, but they were getting more customers than normal, so he wasn't left with nothing, thankfully. Well, that and the absurdly irritating bell above the door. He'd considered it a tad annoying before, but hearing it so often was beginning to get on his nerves.

It got to the point where he actively glared at the thing whenever someone opened the door, though it never lasted long as it usually meant he also had a customer to attend to. Apart from that, nothing interesting was happening in Sugarcube Corner. Something happened just as he was about to close his eyes for a bit.

The World Whined.

His eyes snapped open, and his body burst upward, inadvertently tossing aside a set of pink blankets. His chest was heaving, and his breathing came fast-fasterfasterfaster-causing, his heart pounding painfully.

He could feel it.

The Fear, the Terror.

It kept building. Higher and higher until his heart was fit to burst.

It-

"Storm!"

Suddenly, his heartbeat returned to normal, his breathing slowed, and the Terror faded away. All at once, it was replaced by a strange Warmth.

It felt... it felt similar, but, more than that, it felt Familiar...

"Pinkie?" he asked, his voice hoarse, "Wh-what happened?" he asked, looking around.

He was in Pinkie's room, though the pink blanket should've given that away. The girl in question was standing by the door, her baby blue eyes staring at him, and... was she tearing up?

He didn't get an answer and instead got a face full of pink hair as Pinkie jumped on him, latching her arms around him,

"You're okay!" she cried, "Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Cake and I were sososo worried!" she said, happily rubbing her cheek against his, though that still didn't alleviate his confusion.

"Pinkie," he said firmly. She pulled away, looking at him, "What happened?" Pinkie shook her head.

"I dunno!" she said, hopping back onto the floor, away from him, "You just passed out suddenly two hours ago!"

"I... passed out?" he asked, rubbing his head. Pinkie nodded.

"Yeah! It was pretty scary, you know?" she asked in return and frowned.

"What happened?" Storm blinked, and looked at her, confused. "Didn't you... didn't you feel it?" he asked, only for Pinkie to frown and tilt her head.

"Feel what?"

"Earlier, b-before I passed out," he said. However, she still seemed confused, "There was-there was... this-this feeling. I-it was-" he swallowed, his breathing beginning to pick up once again, "I-I can't-I don't-" He was cut off as a pink finger suddenly appeared over his lips, preventing him from speaking.

"You should relax!" Pinkie smiled, "I dunno what you're talking about, but I'm sure everything'll be just fine!" She held out a cupcake from... somewhere, "Cupcake?"

Storm stared for a moment, then scoffed and gently bathed her hand away.

"Thanks, Pinkie, but I'm fine," he said, rolling off the bed, catching himself before hitting the ground, "I'll just... maybe I'll pop over to the hospital, see if I can-"

The World Cried.

It happened once more. The weight crashed over him, threatening to bury him beneath a tsunami of overwhelming Power.

It roared, and it growled. It wept, and it cried.

It sang, and it sang, and it sang evermore.

A heavy breath escaped Storm's lips, his sentence cut off long before he could finish. It had been only an instant, but that feeling appeared again. It was not as overwhelming as the first time, but it still carried weight.

"Woah! What's goin' on outside?" Pinkie suddenly asked, zipping over to the window. Curious and more than a tad afraid, Storm shakily made his way over to her side and peered out the window.

Pink clouds, numbering in the dozens, were soaring across the sky of their own volition, moving in erratic patterns that continued to puzzle the dozen.

"What the...?" the Jedi Knight muttered to himself, though Pinkie's reaction was slightly different.

"Are those..." she gasped, a bright, mile-wide smile stretching over her lips, "cotton candy clouds?!"

That was all the warning he had before Pinkie pushed him aside, opened the window, and jumped out.

"Wha-Pinkie!"

That girl...

He grumbled a little, darted out the door, headed downstairs, paused to tell the Cakes that something was happening, and made his way outside.

It was... chaos.

Candy clouds had taken over the skies, converting the pristine white clouds into pink ones with a mere touch and zooming around without rhyme or reason. Of course, if it wasn't bad enough, the clouds also started raining. Storm growled as an unfamiliar brown liquid started splattering against his skin, leaving him feeling somewhat sticky and unpleasant. It wasn't until a stray drop landed on his lips, which caused him to lick it on reflex, that he realized just what it was.

Chocolate milk.

"For god's sake..." muttered the teen.

Immediately his eyes started flickering across the sky, taking in as much information as possible. He growled. Something was happening. Something bad.

Nodding to himself, Storm darted out into the middle of the street, "EVERYONE!" he screamed, startling the people around him, "GET INSIDE THIS INSTANT! EQUIS IS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING STRANGE MAGICAL PHENOMENA! FOR YOUR SAFETY, GET INSIDE, AND DON'T COME OUT UNTIL EVERYTHING HAS BEEN CLEARED BY THE ROYAL FAMILY!"

He didn't know if it was because he had stepped up and given the order or if the people were generally just that trusting, but no one even bothered to ask any questions, simply following his orders the moment he'd finished speaking. The streets were empty now, leaving him and him alone, standing in the middle of the unusual weather. He looked around for a moment, his ears on the lookout for any sound that could give something, or even someone, away, but found nothing. He cursed, made his way back into Sugarcube Corner, grabbed his lightsaber, and headed back out, slipping on a pair of goggles to protect his eyes.

"Dammit. What the hell is going on here?" Storm muttered to himself before cracking his back and leaping into the air.

He ignored the few clouds that zipped across his path, as they didn't seem directly hostile, and stopped just above the town's weather limit. He spun in place, eyes scanning every conceivable detail they could. Not even The Everfree Forest seemed completely free from whatever odd magic was at work, meaning it likely didn't originate from there. The town itself didn't seem too bad in shape, as, aside from the milk rain and pink clouds, nothing was happening. At least nothing was happening yet. There was little doubt in his mind that things would escalate sooner or later.

There!

At the corner of his eye, he spotted movement down at the Acres.

It must be Applejack...

Rather annoying, but he should see if she needed any help. Who knows what this strange weather could do to the crops, after all. Storm burst into motion until he arrived just at Applejack's position. Looking around wildly, she was hunkered down under one of her apple trees beside the cornfield.

He wasn't the only one who had come around, though, as Dash suddenly appeared, chasing one of those damned clouds. It was dashing along the ground, with Dash hot on its tail, only for it to pull off the impossible and switch directions instantly. There was no slowing down, no turning. One moment it was going forward; the next, it was going backward. Dash wasn't expecting this either and didn't have time to slow herself down.

"Gah!" she shouted, crashing into the ground, sending up clouds of dirt and debris, "Dammit!" she cursed, pulling herself from the ground, "Get back here, you stupid son of a-!"

"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack shouted, "What in the hay is with all this crazy weather?!"

"The hell if I know!" Dash shouted back, "Twilight's been getting reports from all over the planet. Places all over Equis are getting all this freaky weather!" she said, "Cloudsdale's getting this massive cola storm, and Las Pegasus is up to their knees in orange juice!"

"Well, whatever the hell is going on, it isn't normal," Storm interjected, landing firmly, "Whatever is doing this is powerful enough to affect places all over the planet. You two need to get inside!" he snapped.

Applejack shook her head, "Like hay I am! All this chocolate milk might ruin mah family's crops!" she shouted, "I gotta at least get 'em all covered!"

Before anyone could continue, the cornfield, which had gone mostly unnoticed by him, suddenly started popping. And not one by one either, as the quickly growing tsunami of popcorn crashed over them all, covering them in thousands of individually popped kernels, which were stone cold despite popping.

"Faustdammit!" Storm snapped, angrily bursting out of the corn field, throwing kernels around him. A shadow suddenly overtook him, and he turned to find that the tree Applejack had been hiding under was bending at the trunk, now overburdened with apples the size of his head!

He cursed and leaped away, ignoring the muted *CRASH* as the tree and its now heavy fruit sank into the soggy popcorn. Of course, it didn't end there, as many animals suddenly stampeded across the ground, rushing for the head-sized fruit and consuming it without hesitation.

"Consarnit! Fluttershy, control yer goddamn animals!" Applejack snapped, causing Storm to turn, finding the girl in question helplessly pleading with one of them.

"I'm trying!" she insisted loudly, for her at least, before turning back to the nearest rabbit, "C'mon now, Angel, it's not nice to-, oh my!"

Oh my, indeed, as partway through her attempts at negotiation, there was a flash of light. The rabbit's legs suddenly began to shrink and expand, hard hooves popping out from the bottom while simultaneously elongating until it was nearly three feet in length, bony, and bared only a passing resemblance to a set of actual limbs.

"Oh my, that's not normal at all!"

Seemingly unconcerned with this unusual development, the animals charged off, nearly running Storm over in the process.

"Okay, seriously, what the hell is going on?!" Dash shouted, throwing her hands into the air, though Storm wasn't too sure he was far behind.

"Goodness, things are much worse than I'd imagined," a posh voice said, just as Rarity came into view from behind the veritable mountain of soggy popcorn, wearing an elaborate purple coat and umbrella, "I suppose it's a good thing I've come along to help."

"Rarity!" Applejack shouted, sounding slightly relieved, "Thank goodness, ya got any magic that might solve this?" she asked hopefully, only to deflate when Rarity shook her head.

"I'm afraid not," Rarity admitted, "My expertise lies with dresses, not spells. Though, I'm sure Twilight has just the thing to fix this mess," she added confidently, sending her farmer friend a smile, "In the meantime, I'd be glad to help out! Well, so long as it doesn't involve me getting dirty. Or out from under my umbrella, of course," she offered with a bright smile.

"Of course," Applejack deadpanned, staring flatly at the dressmaker. However, they were interrupted by a loud shout from beyond the popcorn before they could argue.

"Don't worry, everyone!" Twilight's voice cried over the rain and popcorn, "I've finally finished that new 'Fail-safe' spell of mine! Just one cast and everything will be back to normal!" she shouted.

"Well, hurry up!" Dash shouted, "There's enough chocolate milk in my hair, and I don't want anymore!"

"Aw, come on, Dashie!" Pinkie's voice suddenly asked from behind them, causing the entire group to spin around in surprise, finding the pink teen sitting atop the popcorn pile, hair lying flat, jaw wide open, and aimed towards the sky, "Why would you wanna stop this? It's raining chocolate milk!"

She was promptly ignored as a sudden wave of purple magic washed over the area, bathing it in a deep purple glow before a flash of white revealed-

-that nothing had changed.

"Wh-what?!" Twilight stammered, "My Fail-safe spell... failed?! Wh-what do we do?!" she cried, looking horribly lost as she looked around frantically.

"Panic?" Spike's voice supplied before he and his sister fully came into everyone's view, though he was mostly ignored.

Storm growled, idly dodging a particularly low-flying pink cloud.

"Can we figure out what's going on after we get rid of these things?!" he snarled, cutting the next one to come at him in half with his lightsaber, only for it to reform into two new clouds behind him.

"Okay, okay..." Twilight murmured, "Alright! Time for Plan B!" she shouted, "Rainbow Dash?! Storm?! Can you both corral these rogue clouds into one spot?" she called. Dash, who had recently been beset by a group of deformed rabbits, knocked them aside and saluted.

"Got it!" she said and took off, using her superspeed to cut off multiple clouds, forcing them to reverse direction to avoid her until she began to form and then circle a large group of the things, effectively keeping them in place.

Storm was using the Force as he got a hold of the clouds and flung them to where Rainbow had corralled hers.

"Applejack!" Twilight yelled again, "Can you use a rope to bring those high-strung clouds down from the sky?!"

"Heard ya loud an' clear!" she hollered, slipping a lasso out from underneath her hat, twirling it around, and, with one impressive throw, managed to lasso the entire group of clouds before pulling it down to ground level.

"Fluttershy, can you get the animals to eat it?" the princess asked quietly, jogging over to the girl, who gave her a shaky nod.

"Oh my, I hope none of these animals want to eat these chocolate-filled cotton candy clouds! I'd hate to share!" she yelled.

Her acting was horrid, by the way. Granted, the animals didn't seem to notice, having immediately descended on the large mass of sugar like a starving kid at a feast.

"An' when ya'll'er done, feel free ta have some popcorn for dessert!" Applejack shouted, smirking widely.

"I can't help but feel that this is highly unhealthy for the animals..." Storm muttered, eyeing the creatures and their snack with a critical eye, "... then again, neither are those limbs..."

"Aw... but I wasn't finished!" Pinkie whined from off to the side.

"See Spike?" Twilight suddenly asked, "There's nothing we can't overcome if we just work together," she said, nodding sagely.

Storm scoffed, "What did we overcome?" he asked, "Some odd weather? This kind of stuff is taking place all over Equis. We've only just begun fixing shit," he said. Twilight sighed and shook her head.

"Don't be so pessimistic," she scolded him, "Sometimes things are a lot simpler than they-wah?!" she yelped as a sudden burst of green magic erupted from beside her, nearly sending her flopping to the ground as the magic coalesced into a scroll, even as she reflexively caught it in her grip.

"What is it, Twilight?" asked Rarity.

"It's my father! He wants us all to go to Canterlot immediately!" instructed the princess. Everyone looked at each other with worried looks.

---

The teens all made it to the train station as they were quickly on their way to meet with Twilight's father, currently in Canterlot with his wife, to handle some business. There, he noticed the sudden things happening that he had to inform his daughter and her friends. The teens dropped off Spike at the castle so Moondancer could watch over him while they went on this dangerous mission.

Storm was sitting in one of the seats as he looked out the window with his hand under his chin. The boy was thinking.

Although, with every passing second, he could feel It, growing stronger and stronger the closer they came to Canterlot. Its Power only grew deeper, deeper, and deeper, as if he was sinking into the endlessness of the Abyss.

He began to shake, his body convulsing in a feverish attempt to get him away-awayawayaway-from Something.

But. He. Didn't. Know. What.

"Storm?" Twilight's voice cut into his thoughts, dragging them away from the Power, "Are you okay?" she asked, gently placing her hand over his.

Just like that, a Familiar warmth enveloped him, and his shaking ceased, and he found himself staring, confounded, into the pair of worried amethyst eyes peering, worriedly, into his own.

"... I-I'm fine," he said, though he couldn't keep his voice straight. The princess just frowned at him, her eyes searching his.

"Are you sure?" she asked, gently squeezing his hand without thought. Storm found himself nodding and even squeezed back.

"Y-yeah... I'm doing fine now," he said, inadvertently hinting at the opposite being true a few moments ago.

"Well, as cute as this all is," Rarity's voice cut in, sounding oddly apologetic, even as the Jedi Knight and princess practically jumped apart, "we still have no idea what's causing all this strange weather."

"Well, whatever the hell it is," Storm began, ignoring the way the Power began pressing against him once more, "it's... powerful," he said, "To have managed to affect the weather of so many places all over Equis, without being seen or detected is astonishing. Plus, the sheer amount of magic required to have done all of that within so little time and over so wide an area, not to mention making it all resistant to everyone's attempts to stop it, is... beyond imagination."

Not to mention this Power...

"Well, the King obviously figured it out!" Dash snapped, glaring outside at the dozens of armored guards and magicians darting around, trying to contain whatever was going on, "Now they need us to fix it!"

"How?" Fluttershy asked, looking despondently at the rest, "I-I mean... the animals wouldn't listen to me, and not even Twilight's magic worked..."

"That was just one spell!" Applejack argued firmly, stamping her hand against the cushion, "I'm sure Twilight's father has got plenty'o spells ta use!"

"Then why haven't they used them already?" Rarity asked.

"Ooh! What if Twilight's parents made all this happen? Maybe it's all just a big surprise party, and this is how they got us to come!"

The girls, mostly Applejack and Rainbow Dash, continued bickering with each other until Twilight's voice cut through all of them.

"There is one thing..." she said, causing the arguments to fall quiet.

"What?" Dash asked, looking just a little impatient, "What've ya got?"

"The Elements," Twilight said, looking up at the rest of them, "I mean... we are pretty much just civilians," she added sheepishly, noticing her friend's stunning looks, "the only thing we really have to deal with something like this is the Elements of Harmony, which we managed to use once. Maybe they need us to help them use them?" she finished.

"B-but the last time we used the Elements, the whole world was in peril!" Rarity stammered, "S-surely a little bit of weather trouble isn't that big of a threat?" she asked.

"All of Equis being affected by... whatever this is," Twilight continued, looking dour, "For all we know, it's happening all over the planet."

"But how?!" Rarity practically snapped, looking genuinely distraught, "S-surely there's nothing out there as strong as Nightmare Moon?!"

"We won't know until we find out," the princes said, ending the conversation with that grim statement.

Thankfully the train suffered no complications during the rest of the ride, and they made it to Canterlot in good time. And if they thought the kingdom of Equis was bad...

Canterlot was a mess.

Entire buildings had been uprooted from the ground, hovering in the air without a care for the stability of any kind, occasionally tipping over themselves, eliciting panicked screams from inside. On top of that, dozens of those same mutated animals were running around, and even some of the townsfolk had been altered! Storm could even spot some poor fools whose clothes had sprouted legs and were now trying to wear them.

People were running around everywhere, screaming their heads off, and all the Royal Army, at least the ones who hadn't been deployed to other places, could do to keep everyone from getting hurt.

"This is..." Twilight tried to say, failing almost immediately.

"Crazy?" Rainbow supplied.

"Impossible?" Rarity added.

"Chaos," Storm snarled, his eyes lingering on the distant castle, where he could see a swirling vortex of those pink clouds surrounding the main spire.

"That sounds 'bout right," Applejack agreed, staring around them with thinly veiled fury in her eyes, though it did nothing to quell the fear there.

"C'mon, everyone!" Twilight suddenly snapped, breaking into a sprint, "We need to get to my father as fast as we can!"

As if she even had to say anything to get the group moving. The entire group was charging after her, hardly even a second after the first syllable had left her lips. They charged passed animals, ducked beneath buildings, and weaved through the crowds of panicking ponies with only minor issues.

Night Light was in the castle that was stationed in Canterlot. He was looking out the window as he saw his mages and guards doing their best to stop disorder in the streets. A few were using their magic to get things back to normal. The King waved his arm about as his magic shot out. It took care of a section of the streets of Canterlot as his army moved on to the next section. At that moment, the doors to the main room opened.

"Dad!" Twilight shouted seconds before the door to the Main Hall burst open, revealing herself and the other six behind her, "We came as fast as we could!"

"I'm glad you're safe, Twilight," said Night Light as he picked up his daughter and hugged her tightly. The King was almost grateful to the universe for making his child make it to him safely.

"What's going on?" asked the princess to her father.

"We don't have much time. Come with us. And be on your guard!" said Velvet as she appeared atop the central stairs.

Safe to say, Twilight was surprised to see her mother present. If both of them were here, it must have meant the situation was even direr than Storm initially thought. Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat and moved after them, her friends behind her.

Night Light cast a quick look at Storm, almost as if wishing that with the boy being here, it wouldn't happen.

Please, don't let this be true.

Night Light put that thought aside as Applejack spoke up.

"What's goin' on, Yer Highnesses?" Applejack asked, "Everythin's all crazy out there."

"It's a matter of grave importance," Night Light began ominously, "You see, our bloodline has faced many enemies in the past."

"Like with Nightmare Moon?" said Fluttershy.

"Yes. However, there are some greater than others," Velvet added, "But none of them were as powerful as our ancestor, Lord Emerald, faced. A creature that sought to rule Equis." she said.

"How many famous ancestors do you have that fight against evil forces?!" whispered Rainbow to Twilight.

"As far back as our bloodline goes," said Night Light as he heard Rainbow's comment. "But... it appears that old foe has risen once again."

Twilight gasped once she stepped into the hall. It was a massive hall, lined with arches high enough to dwarf the Town Hall in Equis, and a pristine, checkerboard, marble floor, with only a single blood-red carpet stretching from one end of the hall to the other. The walls were faded purple, with only a few statues of soldiers and mages standing beside each of the many windows. They were massive stained-glass windows, towering easily above their collective heights, and each one bore a different image that depicted every single member of Twilight's long, long bloodline.

Great forests, towering mountains, and bottomless oceans spread before her. Grand people and monsters adorned each window, as battles of ages long ago were forever immortalized in the glass.

"We're not sure how he managed to escape," Night Light spoke suddenly, startling Twilight from her thoughts, "We'd thought the spells and enchantments that imprisoned him long ago would be everlasting, but, alas, that proved to be false."

Twilight's parents paused for a moment and stared at one of the windows, prompting the others to do the same. Twilight shuddered. The image was that of a creature she could scarcely fathom, made up of a dozen different parts from different creatures and wide, yellow, and red, but still mismatched, eyes.

"His name is Discord," Velvet said, her tone turning venomous as she glared violently at the image, "He was or rather is, a spirit, one of chaos and disharmony. He lives for nothing other than to spread misery and sorrow wherever he goes."

"Before our ancestor Emerald and his allies, he ruled Equis for nearly three centuries and placed its inhabitants in a state of permanent unrest and unhappiness," Night Light supplied, walking off once more, which caused the group to follow along, "T'was only after Emerald discovered the Elements that he managed to defeat him, and, even then, it took nearly a century to do so."

"Alright! Go Twilight's family!" Rainbow cheered, slightly easing the tension in the group.

"Alright indeed," Night Light said, smiling just the slightest bit, "We aren't sure what allowed him to escape, but we believe it might have something to do with you girls being connected to the Elements, though we can't be certain."

What do you mean, dad?" asked Twilight.

"Twilight, my daughter. Our ancestors have passed on the Elements from generation to generation for years. I told you how when I was your age, I had to use elements myself to help my friend of the Crystal Empire and seal away an evil warlock. However, since then, I sealed the Elements away in hiding. But to do that, I had to strip most of Equis of its magic, with only remnants inside artifacts. The most potent magic in Equis is stored in our artifacts." stated Night Light.

"But with the return of Nightmare Moon and you all being able to reawaken the Elements and restore most of the magic back to Equis, it seems that now you six are bonded to them," Velvet added, just as they came to a stop at the end of the hall, where a door was waiting for them, "That burden now falls to you six. This is Canterlot Tower, otherwise known as the Hall of History, where my husband and I are housing the Elements of Harmony."

However, her words had been lost, as Twilight's focus immediately landed on the door. It wasn't as large as the doors to the throne rooms or the ones leading to the guestrooms. Rather, it stood about one and a half tall as Twilight's parents and bore a single, tricolor metal door with a sun in its center. The door was also framed by a large golden arch with several gemstones, and above the door was the white silhouette of a single angel standing before a purple backdrop.

"We need the six of you to harness the power of the Elements to defeat Discord," Night Light said, startling Twilight.

"Wha-why us?" she asked, "Why can't you-?"

"Hey, look, guys!" Pinkie's voice suddenly cried, "We're famous!"

"Pinkie, what in the world are you-oh dear..." Rarity trailed off, not that Twilight could blame her.

Because right there, in front of Pinkie, was a stained-glass window with their faces.

Of course, it wasn't a perfect likeness, but there was no way they could be mistaken as anyone other than them. They stood together, surrounding a dark blue, nearly black, a figure whom Twilight recognized as Nightmare Moon.

But-but if they had a window here of all places then, didn't that mean-? She gasped. They were a part of history!

"You're already taking your place, Twilight. Making more history for our bloodline for future generations," smiled Night Light at his daughter.

"It is you who wielded the Elements," Velvet suddenly intoned, her voice commanding their attention as she stood before them imperiously, "It is you who commanded their full power, and it must be you who defeats Discord!"

Twilight swallowed, her mouth suddenly feeling dry. This... this was all... this was insane! She wanted them to fight some ancient horror that her ancestor only narrowly managed to beat!? She wanted them to put their lives on the line to save Equis when just this morning, they were going about their daily lives without a hint of what was to come?!

But-but... they... they had a responsibility. They were the ones chosen by the Elements. They were the ones who managed to defeat Nightmare Moon, which, really, wasn't all too different. They'd all gone off after Nightmare Moon without the Elements or an idea of how to beat her, yet they still did. So what was so different about this? Sure, Discord was super powerful, but Nightmare Moon hadn't lacked strength either, yet they still managed to beat her. The only difference seemed to be that they'd be going in with an actual plan this time!

That thought banished any lingering doubts, and Twilight nodded firmly, "I understand, Mom. I'm ready to do whatever it takes!"

"Yeah, count me in!"

"This fiend must be stopped!"

"I'll help too. There's no way I'm lettin' this varmint hurt mah family or home!"

"U-umm... as long as nobody gets hurt... I-I'll help!"

"Wait!" Pinkie suddenly interrupted, "Are we sure we actually wanna do this, girls?" she asked, sounding genuinely worried as she turned to them before grasping Twilight's shoulders, "I mean, if we stop this guy, that means no more chocolate rain!" she said, causing the others to immediately deadpan at her, "Seriously girls! This is chocolate rain we're talking about!"

"Don't listen to her, Dad," Twilight immediately said, ignoring everything Pinkie said, "We'd be honored to wield the Elements of Harmony again," she added.

Twilight's parents smiled at her and nodded.

"Thank you, girls. Now stand back for a moment."

The group listened to Night Light and stepped away, watching as he and Velvet turned to the door and raised their arm. Twilight was unsure what was happening for a moment, but when her parents stuck their hands into the slot in the center of the sun, and their hands glowed blue, she realized what was going on.

An unlocking spell. It was a simple piece of magic, though what Twilight was witnessing right in front of her was anything but. She might not be able to see what enchantments had been placed on the door, but the heavy wave of magic that suddenly burst out of the door when they stepped away painted it as something that would've proved ill to her health if she had tried to open the door herself.

Suddenly, the doors parted, revealing a small blue box lined heavily with gold and various gemstones.

"Ooh..." Rarity nearly moaned, "you can keep the Elements. I'll take that case!" she whispered.

"Don't worry, girls," Velvet said, levitating the case out of the elaborate safe, "I have full confidence that you'll be able to defeat Discord with these," she said, using her magic to open the case, revealing-

"Oh, shit!" cursed Night Light.

---

Hearing Twilight's dad curse was amusing to Storm, but given the current situation, he decided it was best to push his amusement to the side.

"The Elements! They're-they're gone!" Twilight murmured, her voice hoarse.

"Th-that's not-that's impossible!" Velvet almost screeched, dropping the case as though it had caught fire, whirling to face the empty vault, "That vault was laced with enough enchantments to level all of Canterlot! Breaking into it is-is-impossible! How could anyone have gotten into it?!" she muttered, beginning to pace around, a sight he hadn't seen for years now, "This doesn't make any sense!"

"Sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?"

It was an enormous Weight, bearing down upon him from every direction. It locked him in place, for he knew-heknewheknewheknew-that moving would be synonymous with Death, as the air itself grew tense.

None of the girls seemed to notice how Storm suddenly stiffened, all whirling around to find the source of that... Voice.

"Discord!" Night Light yelled as he and Velvet took formation around the seven of them, and Storm would have moved with them if only his body would respond. Both royal figures had a magical circle surrounding their wrists as their hands glowed with magic, ready to fight.

"Show yourself, coward!" Velvet snapped, her hand glowing brightly.

"Oh? A coward, am I? Funny, I distinctly recall that your ancestor Emerald ran from me with his tail between his legs. How many times was it? Ten-thousand-four-hundred-and-forty-six, if I do my math correctly, yet, I am the coward?"

The Voice was smooth, free of any worry. It was amused, arrogant even. Yet it permeated every one of his senses, bombarding him from every angle. He tried to block it out, but his body refused to respond.

Was Storm shaking?

"Your taunts are useless, beast!" Velvet snarled, her hand crackling with visible arcs of magic as the very air around her began to sizzle,

"Hmhm... so you say, my dear Velvet."

Night Light placed a hand over his wife's shoulder, not flinching as Velvet's gaze snapped to him, her eyes nearly glowing with a furious white light.

"Calm down, dear," he said gently, "You know as well as I that his words are just that. Words."

"Hmm? Just words, are they?"

They had made a mistake. Something was different. The air, so tense, suddenly began to flow, caressing every physical inch of flesh that was so foolishly exposed. It felt heated, nearly burning even his skin.

"Exactly," Velvet continued, seemingly unaware of the changes around them-but; that was impossible.-and turned her gaze to the stained glass image of the Mad King, "You favor mental manipulations. Rarely do you ever actually do something with your own strength," she taunted.

Was she taunting Discord? Was she out of her mind?!

"Hmhmhm... my, how I missed these little word games with you humans. It's no fun being imprisoned in stone. Oh, but you wouldn't know that, would you? Because I don't turn people into stone."

Malice, pure and vile, poured from those words like a raging waterfall. It dripped with such concentrated venom that his knees buckled immediately, and he came crashing to the floor like a puppet without strings.

"Storm!"

The girls crowded around him, with Twilight and Pinkie the closest to him. He saw them grab his arms more than he felt, trying to pull him back to his feet, yet his body still refused to obey.

"What did you do, Discord?!" Velvet's voice growled.

"Hmm? Oh, I simply borrowed the Elements for a little while. Can't have them mucking about, now can I? Unless you're talking about that interesting little pet of yours, I'm afraid I've no idea what's wrong with him. Humans truly are a squeamish little bunch. It's so funny. It's actually quite sickening, really."

"Enough games, Discord!" Night Light shouted, stamping his foot, causing the floor to crater slightly, "We will not allow you to get away with harming our subjects!"

"Oh my, I forgot how utterly grim you humans can be. It's so utterly boring. I don't understand how you can live with yourselves."

"Hey!" Dash's voice snapped, "Nobody insults Twilight's parents!" she snarled, whirling around to find the voice's source.

"Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash, famed for her Loyalty. The same as the Element of Harmony you represent."

"You're damn right I am!" Rainbow boasted, puffing her chest out, "I'll always be loyal to my friends!"

"We'll see about that."

The girls, save Rainbow, shivered at those words.

"W-well, w-we're wasting time just talking to the air, aren't we?" Rarity asked nervously, "Surely we need to find the Elements before this... Discord, does anything?" she inquired hesitantly.

"Ah, Rarity. The Element of Generosity, if I'm not mistaken."

"So what?" Applejack asked, ignoring the way Rarity yelped when the Voice indicated, "Ya know some stuff 'bout us. It ain't a big deal!"

"Oh, I know much more than that, Honest Applejack."

"You seem to know our strengths, too," Twilight pointed out from beside him, still trying to support his unresponsive body.

"Strengths, weaknesses... fears, desires... Oh yes, I know quite a lot of things, Twilight Sparkle. Just as I know quite a lot about your Element. The Element of Magic, oh yes. Quite the interesting little thing, isn't it? The youngest and most unknown Element of them all... well, unknown to you humans, that is. I know a lot about all of you. Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness, just as Pinkie Pie is the one who holds the Element of Laughter."

"Enough stalling, Discord!" Velvet snapped, getting fed up, "Where are the Elements of Harmony?! What did you do with them!?"

"Ugh, so demanding. Why ever would I tell you where to find the only things on this wretched rock that can actually defeat me? 'Oh yes, of course, I'll tell you, they're just behind that tree!', bah. And you humans say that I'm the insane one."

"You fear them."

"Yes, just as much as I fear chocolate milk. Oh, wait, I don't. I'm just not the idiot you humans think I am. Honestly, the only reason you prancing little pipsqueaks ever managed to defeat me was that I, in my arrogance, thought nothing could ever touch me!... Oh, but I've learned my lesson, you see. I know I can't just lay back and bring misery to you wretched little cretins as I did before. No, after what you all did to me, I realize that the only way to make things right-"

"-is to get up-close and personal."

Storm's body finally moved once more for the first time since his appearance, bolting from his nearly prone position on the ground. While the others were still seconds behind, pondering the sudden change in the Voice, Storm had already recognized what had happened and moved accordingly.

He was not prepared.

Power.

Absolute Power.

Power Beyond Comprehension.

Power That Surpassed Divinity.

He was standing behind them as though he'd been there the whole time. Long, snake-like body beginning with a red-scaled tail, slipping abruptly but seamlessly into a long, reddish-brown torso of a serpent. Extending down, his legs were made up of a goat's leg and a lizard's leg, the stark white and dirty green not going with his body. A griffon's claw and a lion's paw made up his arms, both laying harmlessly against his side. From the neck up, he bore a horse's head of gray fur, with a long white beard and bushy white eyebrows, where a set of mismatched horns jutted out from his skull, one horn that of a deer's antler, and the other a blue goat's horn. A bright blue pegasus wing and a dark bat wing spread lazily from behind his back, their small size contrasting his disproportionate appearance.

But it was his eyes that caught the most attention. Mismatched orbs of putrid yellow, with a pair of glowing crimson irises, each dripping with Malice.

Despite his relaxed appearance, Storm could scarcely stand before him, the sheer amount of Power radiating out of the creature before him akin to a heavy waterfall, crashing over him relentlessly.

Despite the Jedi Knight's sheer difficulty standing, the others had no difficulty standing before him, as though they couldn't even feel it in the first place.

It made no sense. Why was he having so much difficulty? Was he not stronger than them? Was he not more resilient than this?

Was it because he was not one of them?

Eventually, however, the others soon caught up with him, each turning and jumping backward upon sighting the creature before them.

His eyes scanned over all of them, taking in the appearance of each individual in the room carefully, analyzing them with meticulous care.

All except for him.

"Discord!" Night Light shouted,

"So you finally show yourself," Velvet noted, almost clinically, her previous rage turning into cold fury.

"So I have," Discord replied, almost lazily, his gaze sliding over to them, "I suppose this is the part where you make some inane claim of how 'You're going to regret escaping,' or 'Twilight and her friends will stop you, no matter what,' yes?"

"You are weaker than you once were," Velvet proclaimed, sounding oddly smug, "the Elements might not even be necessary." Discord only tilted his head.

"Really now? You must be getting old if you think that, in any way, that is true. Or perhaps... you've fallen into the same pit I fell into all those years ago. I am, of course, talking about arrogance. It's a nasty temptress, I tell you. Really, I sympathize with you," Discord said, holding his claws to his chest, presumably over his heart.

Storm made a note of the location for later.

"Enough playing around," Night Light growled, "Tell us where you've taken the Elements now."

Discord only sighed, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head.

"I didn't tell you before, so why would I tell you now? Besides-" his eyes suddenly locked onto them, the red of his irises practically glowing, "-we have so much catching up to do! Hmm, let's see..." he began to float into the air, tapping his talons against his chin, "what should I do? Maybe I could turn you inside out and throw you outside for the pigeons?" Fluttershy gagged, "Hmm, no, no, too obvious. Drop you all into a vat of acid? No, to cliche... Hmm... decisions, decisions..."

The only warning was the brief instant of the scent of ozone before a bright beam of blue light erupted from Velvet's hand, screeching through the air faster than he could blink, zeroing in on the spot just above Discord's heart-

-only for it to splash harmlessly against his skin, fizzling into faint sparkles against the air.

Lovely attempt, your Majesty. But I want to know, how have you been dealing...

A beam of light burst over Discord's heart once more, erupting around him in a cloud of pink magic. A hundred balls of brilliant yellow light burst into being, surrounding the cloud before diving into it all at once. A massive white and gold warhammer appeared out of thin air before it was sent flying into the cloud, spinning like a demented buzzsaw. Pieces of the floor around them suddenly uprooted themselves from the ground and flung themselves into the cloud. A final beam of pure white light erupted from the King's hands, completely encasing the cloud and blinding everyone in the room.

Moments passed, where Night Light's extraordinarily heavy breathing was the only sound. They all waited, staring as their eyes began to adjust to normal before a round of gasps broke the silence.

The cloud of smoke was gone, and so was Discord.

Not to mention the entire roof was completely absent as well. Not even ashes or debris were left over. It was as though the sun had burned away that part of the room, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

For a moment, Storm believed it was over, no matter how foolish the thought was.

Alas, it was only a matter of time.

"Then let's fix that, shall we?"

Storm spun around, idly noting that the girls had long beaten him to the punch, though they seemed no more able to interfere than he was.

He was standing there, claw clamping around her throat as he held her aloft.

"Grk-guh-gu!" Velvet was choking. He was-killingdyingfading-choking her!

She was shaking in his grip, clawing at his talons to no avail. Velvet's eyes were locked onto her husband's panicked expression, but the amount of magic she must've put into those spells kept her immobilized for the moment.

Discord sighed,

"Really, so dramatic. I'm not even gripping you too hard," he said, punctuating that by tightening his grip, causing a spurt of blood to gush from Velvet's lips.

"Let... her... go..." Night Light's voice wheezed out, deathly low but easily heard, even over Velvet's choking. Discord glanced over at him, tilted his head, and smiled.

The World Screamed.

"With pleasure."

He reared his arm back and threw Velvet at Night Light with enough force to send them both careening into the far wall, dealing more damage to the already ruined foundation as cracks ran up its surface, causing chunks that had already been made from the King's failed attack, to fall to the floor.

"Velvet, Velvet!" Night Light cried, scrambling to his wife's front, where a very dark mark was left on her throat from where Discord had throttled her, "Are you alright? Answer me, Velvet!"

No one dared move until a weak cough emerged from Velvet's throat, followed by a small glob of blood.

"Velvet..." he muttered, voice hoarse, eyes shut lazily as she turned towards his wife's voice. Night Light's expression of worry melted into a mix of relief and sorrow as he gently tried pulling Velvet to her feet.

"Thank goodness you're alright," Night Light murmured, turning to face Discord, expression morphing back into fury, "there's an enemy we need to take care of," he growled.

"Y-yes... of course," Velvet muttered as she was hunched over, pawing at her injured throat.

Night Light's eyes slid over them, the fury still present, "Girls, Storm, go! Find the Elements! Velvet and I will-Gah!" Night Light was cut off by a burst of dark blue magic slamming into his side, sending him tumbling away, crashing into the wall beside the empty vault.

""""""What?!""""""

Storm didn't blame the girls for their reaction, as he was too preoccupied with freaking out himself!

"V-Velvet?!" Night Light asked warily, wincing as he stood back up, a spot on her right side beginning to turn a faint red, "Wh-what are you...?"

The dark spot on the Queen's neck suddenly blackened before spreading out like some demented virus. Soon Velvet lifted her eyes as they shined a bright yellow.

"Velvet, you need to snap out of it," Night Light said, "This is just one of Discord's tricks. Don't let him trick you!"

And just like that, Velvet burst forward, taking them all by surprise, and planted her fist into her husband's cheek, sending the King hurtling through the wall he'd cracked earlier before she chased after him, screeching.

The seven could only stand and stare in stunned silence. They had yet to expect the current sequence of events. Especially, Twilight, as she was mortified to see her parents fight each other.

Discord chuckled, breaking the silence and startling the seven of them.

"Well, that was much more entertaining than I'd anticipated," he said, rubbing his chin with a talon before he turned to them, his-wrongabnormaltwisted-amused gaze twinkling as he took them in, "So, what to do with you six?"

For an instant, none of them moved.

Then Storm found himself hurtling straight at the draconequus, lightsaber aimed, heading straight for his eyes-!

-only for a titanic weight to crash into his chest, sending him crashing back into the ground just before the girls. He struggled to stand for a moment, his chest already aching and sore, before spitting out the blood that had collected in his throat.

"Storm!"

"Ow..." he muttered pathetically, feeling one of the girls pulling him to his feet, where he swayed dangerously for a moment before steadying himself.

"As amusing as that was, what were you expecting to happen?" Discord asked, brow raising as he gave the Jedi Knight a crooked grin.

"B-bastard..." Storm retorted weakly, earning an amused scoff from the spirit.

"You won't get away with this," Twilight said suddenly, glaring bloody murder at Discord, who only smirked.

"That line again? How boring," he complained, raising a paw suffused with crackling energy, "At least try to make this a little entertaining, won't you?" he asked before firing a condensed ball of magic at the seven of them.

"RUN!" yelled the princess, darting off to the side.

The others immediately followed that advice, scattering out of the ball range, but many of them were blown across the room by the massive explosion that occurred once the damn thing hit the ground. Discord's paw once more lit up energy, and the chase began.

---

It was quite stressful, Storm had to admit. He'd had his fair share of chases like this and experienced them from both ends. But never had he experienced something even close to Discord's level. His spells never ended. Every second that passed was filled with some spell. Balls of energy racing at them, furniture coming to life, objects spawning in front of them, all twisted with features like eyes, mouths, and limbs trying to reach out and grab them.

Trying to stay out in the open, away from things like dressers, banners, and other furniture, was fruitless as well, as the very ground would split and reach up to grab the lot of them, often splitting open into something resembling a mouth and trying to devour them whole. Despite this, Storm couldn't help but notice that nothing that Discord threw at them had come even close to actually harming them. He seemed oddly dead, set on capturing rather than hurting or killing them.

They're the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony... Killing them should be his first, and frankly only, option. Getting rid of them practically guarantees his rule, so why is he playing games like this?

It was a puzzle, and, short of asking the creature himself, Storm didn't think he'd ever figure it out.

Eventually, they reached a room, burst through the doors, and slammed them shut behind them for all the good it would do. The girls were all panting heavily, with Applejack and Rainbow the least winded of the lot. Surprisingly Twilight was doing the best after them, with Rarity and Pinkie being the worst off, with the former holding a hand against her chest and the latter laying flat on her back, gasping for air.

"Oh? Are you all done running now?" a voice from behind them asked, startling them all into turning around where Discord sat, lounging on a chair, "Honestly, can't you do anything else? Scream? Throw something at me? Teleport maybe?" he asked further, inspecting his nails lazily.

Storm felt a surge of anger, and he nearly launched himself again but held back. He wasn't used to being played like this. He wasn't used to being so completely helpless against his enemy.

But was that any excuse to not try? Against impossible odds, was he meant to lay down and allow the spark in his heart to give out?

No! He refused such a reality! He denied its existence, denied it with every fiber of his being!

He would fight to prevent such a worthless reality! And, if necessary, he would die before allowing it to happen!

Storm growled and brandished his lightsaber again, taking an offensive stance in front of the girls.

"Oh? You're going to fight me, are you?" Discord asked, rising from the throne, his voice laced with amusement, "Well... I suppose it's good to see someone with some backbone, at least," he added idly, "I'd wondered if humankind had grown as fearful as I'd imagined."

"Storm!" Twilight hissed in his ear, using her magic to pull him backward, "What are you doing?! You can't beat him!"

"And without the Elements, neither can you," he hissed back, narrowing his eyes at her, "At the very least, I can buy you a lot of time to get out of here and find them!" he added, glaring over at the draconequus, who seemed oddly okay with letting them talk, simply standing there, staring at them.

"Wha-? Are you out of your mind?!" she asked, staring at him as though he'd suddenly grown a second head, "We're not leaving you!"

"You will, or I'll make you," Storm snarled, "I'm sure he'd find it funny enough to let me chuck you lot out the window!"

"You woul-!"

"That's enough of that."

His senses screamed at him, and he tackled Twilight to the ground just as a lance of energy raced over their heads, spearing through the door, with a loud explosion reaching their ears seconds later.

"As amusing as this little drama of yours is, I'm afraid I'd like to get to terrorizing this pathetic planet before the day is out," he said, lowering his arm, then smirked and glanced outside, "Well, more out than it already is."

Storm seethed for a moment before glancing down at the princess beneath him, "You see now?" he asked quietly, staring deeply into her eyes, "This isn't a fight. It's a slaughter. But as long as he has a sheep to mess with, you lot can get out and put an end to it once you find the Elements. You're all connected to them, so I'm sure you'll be able to find them without issue, alright?" he asked.

"But-!"

"Twilight," he said, silencing her, "do you trust me?"

She was silent for a moment longer before giving him a slow nod, "Y-yes."

"Good," he said, stepping away from her, taking place in front of the six of them, "now go."

He waited as the girls hesitated, but eventually, Applejack moved forward.

"You heard 'im, Twi," she said quietly, making her way to the door, "He knows what he's doin'."

"What?!" Dash nearly shouted, sounding surprised, "You're just gonna leave him?!" she said, throwing her hands out towards him.

"He's helpin' us by givin' us time ta find the Elements'a Harmony, Dash," Applejack said, not turning to look at her, "The least we can do is trust 'im an' do our part."

"Applejack's right," Rarity said; he could feel her eyes on the back of his head, "It's the only solution."

"You too, Rarity?!" Dash asked, sounding almost... betrayed, "You're kidding me, right?! Fluttershy, Pinkie, back me up here!"

"O-oh! Um... I-I don't really... h-he wants to help us..." he mumbled.

"Yeah!" Pinkie chirped.

"But-!"

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight interrupted, standing back up, "It's okay. Let's go."

Wha-but-but Twilight...?" Dash tried to ask, sighing, "... Dammit, fine... but I swear, Storm, if you die, I'm gonna..." she trailed off. The Jedi Knight chuckled.

"Right, got it," he said, smirking, "Now get going; I doubt he's going to give us any more time."

They didn't say anything after that, only nodding and bolting out the throne room doors, leaving Storm alone with the draconequus.

"Hehe... That's quite brave of you," Discord began, beginning to float in the air again, "but surely you realize that you can't beat me, yes?" Storm narrowed his gaze at Discord and lowered himself to the ground in preparation.

"Never dreamed of it."

The Jedi Knight launched off immediately, keeping low to the ground. As he got closer, he quickly brought his lightsaber up in a diagonal slash, only for Discord to bend out of the way at an unnatural angle. He started to correct himself, but Discord's paw shot out and caught him in the ribs. He grunted as the impact shunted him into the wall, swallowing as blood bubbled up his throat.

Damn... son of a bitch hits hard...

He shook his head and tore himself free. He'd scarcely touched the ground when Discord appeared before him, wielding a mallet twice as big as himself. Storm barely managed to duck as the blunt weapon's edge swept over him, though the weapon's sheer size pulled the air along with it, sending the boy tumbling to the floor. Discord's foot collided with his side, kicking him up into the air, just in time for a massive baseball bat to slam into his stomach. The teen gasped, coughing out a glob of saliva on impact before rocketing off toward the ceiling.

He just corrected his flight and avoided hitting the ceiling when Discord reappeared beside him. Thankfully he was on alert for just such a thing and met Discord's appearance with a swing of his sword. Discord's eyes widened slightly, jerking his head backward enough to prevent Storm from dislodging his head, though he still suffered a gash along his cheek.
The Jedi Knight smirked.

Magic might have been useless, but physical attacks still can affect him!

Emboldened by his successful strike, he moved forward to strike again but was stopped by Discord's tail, snapping around him and impacting his back, sending him hurtling back to the floor.

He cratered the ground on impact and only stood up in time to block Discord's follow-up strike, bringing up his right arm to take the blow from his suddenly armored limb. Unfortunately, he'd underestimated how much power Discord could bring to bear and ended up having his entire right arm shattered on impact.

"GAH-!"

He was further knocked into the ground, the crater around him growing bigger as Discord's strike continued into the floor, inadvertently knocking a debris cloud into the air.

"You really should think of giving up," he said, staring into the cloud, "what's the point in dying here? A few extra seconds for those little friends of yours won't mean anything, you know?" he asked, before snapping his talons, clearing away the cloud in an instant. "Truly, you're wast-"

Storm took the opportunity and lunged at the spirit, driving his good arm into the side of his face, breaking his jaw if the loud crunch was anything to go by, turning the tables as the Jedi Knight was the one to send Discord flying away this time.

Storm fell back to the ground, having to bite his tongue to keep himself from crying out as his arm was jolted by the motion.

The doors behind him suddenly burst open.

"We're not leaving you behind, Storm!" Twilight's voice filled the room, "You're either coming with us, or we're not going!"

You've gotta be kidding me!

The Jedi Knight snarled and turned around, finding all six girls standing in the open doorway, each one looking overly determined in their own way.

"Idiots!" he snapped at them, cradling his right arm, "You're just gonna get yourselves fucking killed!"

"And what about you, huh?" Rainbow Dash retorted hotly, "Do you honestly think we'd be okay if you died instead?! Don't be a fucking idiot!"

"Dash's right," Applejack, the girl who'd previously been on his side, said, "I thought it was the right thing ta do, lettin' ya fight 'im alone," she shook her head, "Wasn't 'till this one-" she indicated Twilight, "started yellin' at me that I realized what ya were tryin' ta do."

"I must say, though," Rarity interjected, smiling warmly at him, "the idea that you'd so willingly sacrifice yourself for us is... well, quite storybook, actually."

"The point is, Storm," Twilight began solemnly, "that you're our friend. We can't just let you do that because... we're in this together, or not at all."

He just stared at them.

Just stared at these... these morons...

Didn't they realize that he wasn't as important as them?

These total... total idiots who just wouldn't let him...

They were the Elements of Harmony, and he was only a Jedi!

Wouldn't let him...

They shouldn't be worried about him like this! They should be focusing on saving Equis, so why...?!

Why...?!

Why were they...?!

Dammit, why was he crying?! He shouldn't be crying about this! He shouldn't... he shouldn't...!

"Id-idiots!" he said, ignoring the tears that weren't falling down his face because he wasn't crying!

"It's okay..." a warm voice soothed him as a pair of butter-yellow arms wrapped around him, causing him to stiffen, "There's no need to cry..."

"I-I'm not crying, dammit!" he sniffed, trying to pull away, only for another set of arms, pink this time, to wrap around them, keeping him locked in place, "L-let me go!"

"Hmm-nope!"

He struggled a bit more, only for the third set of arms, followed by a fourth, fifth, and even sixth pair to wrap around him, effectively preventing him from moving.

He just shook in place as the girls held him, trying in vain to stifle whatever sounds bubbled up his throat-because they were just sounds, not sobs!-each one only causing them to hold him tighter.

Eventually-

"One chance. I'll give you humans one chance."

The seven of them, startled by the words, all broke apart and faced the one they'd come from. The seven found Discord, just laying there, lion paw rubbing his now-healed jaw. There was no visible sign of damage anywhere on him, as even the cut he'd gotten wasn't there anymore, the skin appearing unblemished.

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked, taking a stance.

Discord ignored her and rose to his feet, paw lowering to his side.

"I won't make it easy for you," he said, "of course not. It will be hard, and, frankly, I'll do everything I can to stop you... but I'll give you a chance," he said cryptically before he raised his paw-

-and vanished in a flash of white light.

"To retrieve your missing Elements, simply make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then, find the Elements back where you began."

Discord's voice faded away, leaving them silently alone in the throne room.

They didn't speak for another minute or so until-

"So... wh-what do we do?" Fluttershy asked, breaking the silence.

"Whaddya reckon that mean?" Applejack asked, "All that 'twists an' turns' an' 'ended up back where we began' stuff?"

"A riddle..." Storm muttered, adjusting his grip on his broken arm, "he's telling us where the Elements of Harmony are... with a riddle..."
Twilight broke off from the group, staring at the ground thoughtfully with a hand on her chin,

"'Twists and turns," she muttered, "'Twists and turns'... 'Twists and turns..." she kept repeating that part of the riddle under her breath until she paused, gasped, and spun around, "I've got it!" 'Twists and turns, he must've hidden the Elements in the Canterlot Hedge Maze!"

"Makes sense," Dash said, shrugging, "I always get lost in those stupid things and end up back at the entrance..."

"That's... a bit obvious, don't you think?" Storm asked, turning to Twilight with a grimace, "A maze is the first thing you're bound to think of when hearing the phrase twists and turns, you know? It's a riddle, so you need to think about the whole thing instead of just one part of it," he pointed out, only for the princess to shake her head.

"No, it's definitely the maze. Making the answer to his riddle obvious is something that Discord, mischievous spirit, would do to throw us off," she said, nodding firmly to herself. Storm frowned.

"And what if it's not?" he asked, "'Twists and turns' implies that it's meant to throw us for a loop. It's more likely that 'back where you began' is the more important part," he insisted.

"Oh, come on! Where is that supposed to lead us?" Dash said, irritated. "A hospital or somethin'? That's definitely where I began!"

"Maybe your right, Storm," Twilight said, ignoring Dash's comment, "Maybe it is a trick, and the line twists and turns are supposed to throw us for a loop. But what if 'back where you began' is what that loop is? For all we know, that line is just a red herring meant to send us on a wild goose chase! Besides, where would 'back where we all began' even be? I'm from Equis, the same as Applejack. Rarity and Pinkie Pie are from Coruscant. Fluttershy is from Alderaan, and I have no idea about you or Rainbow."

"I-..." he trailed off, "I don't know..." he said, but shook his head anyways, "But I do know that the Elements aren't going to be in the Canterlot Maze! It's just... just right there! I can't imagine that Discord would go through all that trouble to place the only things threatening him right next to where he was being imprisoned this whole time!"

"That's exactly the point!" Twilight argued fervently, stepping towards him, her eyes skipping back down to his arm once or twice, "It would be the last place we'd look!"

"But it was the first place you thought of!"

"Calm down, you two!" Rarity interjected, stepping in between them, "Why don't we split up? Some of us head into the maze, while the others head elsewhere to work on that last line?"

"An' split us up?" Applejack asked, raising a brow, "What happens when we find the Elements an' we ain't together?" she added, causing Rarity to wince.

"Applejack's right. We need to stick together," Twilight said, frowning, though it was more sad than angry this time, staring at his arm again.

"I mean... Storm isn't one of us," Pinkie suddenly said, looking up with a hand against her chin, "He's a super tough Jedi, but he's not an Element..." she trailed off, noticing how the group had started staring at her, "What?"

"That's... true," the Jedi Knight said, not entirely certain if he was being insulted, "but I can't just leave you lot alone."

"Why not?" Dash asked, raising an eyebrow, "I mean, what are you gonna do? Discord already kicked your ass!"

"Rainbow Dash!"

"Yeah, and I supposed an untrained civilian like yourself will do much better!" he snarled.

"Stop it, you two!" Twilight yelled, stamping her foot, "We can't be arguing like this! Look," she began consolingly, approaching him, "Pinkie and Applejack are right," she added, stopping before him, eyes flickering to his arm, "The six of us have to stay together if we find the Elements... but you're right to think that Discord is trying to trick us," she said, before glancing at his arm, again, "You've already fought him once, and you lost. Badly."-he tried not to wince at her words-"If all seven of us go at once, then you're only going to get hurt again an-"

"Like I care," Storm interrupted waspishly, "My well-being compared to yours isn't exactly a high price to pay, not when you're all the heroines of the day." Twilight only sighed.

"You might not care about your health, and you've made that quite clear over the time I've known you, but I do. I don't want you getting any more hurt than you already are, and even then, I'm this close to freaking out!" the princess admitted, before swallowing a lump in her throat, her eyes darting down to his arm before resolutely looking at anything that wasn't him, "I-I-I don't... I don't want you to..." she bit her lip and forced her eyes back onto his, "I don't want to lose you, Storm."

He stared for a moment, uncomprehending before his eyes widened once the words fully reached him.

"I-I-?! Wh-what, a-are you-?! D-don't say embarrassing stuff like that, dammit!" he demanded weakly, turning his head away, trying in vain to ignore the heat in his face. Twilight, equally red-faced as himself, puffed up her chest and shook her head. She placed both hands on Storm's cheeks and leaned her face very close to him to where their lips were inches from each other.

"No! I-I'll say whatever I w-want to say! If I want to tell you how much I c-care about you, then I-I will!"

"As cute as this is-" Rarity interjected once more, though she had quite the smile on her face this time, "-we absolutely must find the Elements!" she said, then spared a quick glance between the two of them, "Though, I would suggest the two of you take the time to, ah, talk about this after we've stopped Discord, yes?"

"Yeah, plus this is kinda awkward for the rest of us..." Dash cut in lowly, looking between himself and Twilight uncomfortably. Especially cause all it would take is for one of them to move and make their lips connect.

"Speak for yourself! Ha! I knew they'd work out!" Pinkie gushed quietly.

"R-right," Twilight agreed hesitantly, now fervently avoiding even glancing in Storm's direction, "S-so, the six of us will head into the maze while S-Storm heads out and tries to figure out what the last line of Discord's riddle means. Does everybody agree?"

"Yeah!"

"Um, yes?"

"Totally!"

"Eeyup."

"Indeed."

"I've been outvoted, so yes."

"Good!" Twilight said, nodding firmly, "Let's get going, everyone!" she concluded, "Quickly, girls!" she added, jogging out the front door, the other Bearers hot on her tail.

That left Storm sitting alone in the throne room, still clutching his broken arm. He stared after them for a moment before cursing and limping to the nearest window.

Dammit... I'm a Jedi Knight, yet all I can do is sit around while they go and put themselves in danger!

He growled but shook his head with a huff.

No... no... I can't focus on that right now. Alright, so... 'To retrieve your missing Elements, simply make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then, find the Elements back where you began.'

The first half is... useless. Nothing more than introductory information that explains the purpose of the riddle... no... no, there is something there. It specifically mentions 'your missing Elements, '... which means it was directed at the girls... so it likely has absolutely nothing to do with me, which makes it both easier... and much more difficult.

He licked his suddenly dry lips.

So I need to know something specific regarding the six of them, presumably to 'find the Elements back where you began.' It was an easy enough conclusion, he knew. But the biggest issue, and likely the one hiding away the answer, was this; Where did 'began' mean?

In this context, the word 'began' could mean various things. It was like Twilight said. They all began in slightly different places.

...

But, in the end, they still wound up in Equis, just before encountering the Elements for the first time.

Was it that simple? Did Discord hide the Elements in the old abandoned castle that belonged to Twilight's ancestor, who became the first King of Equis?

It would make sense since that is where they found the Elements. Where they defeated Nightmare Moon and became a real group of friends.

...

They needed the Elements to defeat Nightmare Moon. Finding the Elements was their goal. If finding the Elements was their goal, then didn't that mean it was the end of their journey to combat Nightmare Moon?

So if that was the end... then where did it begin?

He scowled and turned away from the window-Discord's magic made sure there wasn't anything useful to see outside anyways before making his way, awkwardly, into the right-side hall.

I need more information.

Storm was still walking along the hallway, trying to find the answer to the riddle. An ancient being named had returned Discord and was set to terrorize Equis. Twilight's parents had called their daughter and her friends to arrive in Canterlot as they hoped to use the Elements of Harmony to defeat the draconequus, but it seemed he had taken and hidden them. Now the girls were looking for them as the Jedi Knight had suffered a broken arm and was trying to devise another solution to the riddle he gave them.

"Where it all began? What does it mean?" stated Storm as he leaned his back against a wall.

Storm then closed his eyes as he recalled the events of what went down with Nightmare Night. The evil sorceress appeared and was hell-bent on bringing about the eternal night. Night Light informed Twilight about the Elements and how they could defeat her; their location was in the abandoned castle in the Everfree forest that once belonged to Twilight's ancestor, who became the first ruler of Equis. They all went and found the Elements, and Nightmare Moon was defeated. But... what did that have to do with the riddle?

Storm was struggling to see how any of that could help him. At that moment, the Jedi Knight thought of something. He recalled how Night Light had informed them about the Elements. As he pulled out a book that detailed the things.

A book. It was a book. Of course, it was a book! It's Twilight, of all people, so of course, it's a book! Faust dammit...

The Jedi Knight had to admit that it was both annoying and mildly amusing to find that this entire thing began with the princess's obsession with books.

---

He had made it out of the building as he took to the air and leaped. Storm was heading toward the station as he was hoping to get back to the castle.

"Now, where are you going?"

Storm had only an instant to recognize the voice, but by then, a massive weight crashed into him, sending him darting toward the ground even faster than he'd leaped. He screamed in shock and pain for a second before hitting the ground, lightly cratering the surrounding earth.

He groaned and forced himself to stand, faltering twice before finally reaching his feet.

"My my, your kind seems just as resilient as I remember," Discord spoke, appearing in front of him in a flash of white light, idly filing his claws.

"B-bastard..." Storm snarled through clenched teeth. Discord 'tsk'ed,

"Didn't we have this conversation earlier?"

"Fuck you."

"Quite," Discord said.

Discord's eyes widened as Storm's lightsaber suddenly entered his personal space. Within the span of an instant, the blade had reached him.

Appearing as though moving in slow motion, Discord could feel the instant in which the tip of his blade met his skin, a few centimeters below his eye. Despite the searing pain that erupted from the point, he could still move, dragging the blade across his face before he reached his paw up and bathed aside the weapon, knocking it clear into the forest around them.

The Jedi Knight continued his journey past the spirit, hitting the ground at an odd angle. He didn't let that stop him, however, immediately getting back to his feet and launching himself, once more, at the draconequus, his eyes screaming bloody murder.

The distance between them closed instantly, but he was caught just as quickly, Discord's supernatural strength gripping his hooves furiously.

"You're a Jedi Knight? I wouldn't know based on the moves you've made." Discord asked, glaring at him, the blood dripping down his face beginning to evaporate before his eyes as the wound stitched itself closed, "I know that look in your eye. You don't care, do you?" he asked.

Rather than let Storm answer, not that he would've, Discord's grip tightened itself around his broken arm.

The boy's vision turned white instantly, as the the-burningsearingagonizing-pain-Meant Nothing-was ignored.

The pain faded instantly, and he reared his head back before flinging it forward, colliding heavily with the draconequus.

"Gah!"

Discord reeled back in surprise, dropping Storm as he clutched his forehead. Not one to let the opportunity go missed, the boy leaped at him once more. Despite his shocking state, Discord was still fully capable of dodging his strikes.

Storm growled as his furious attacks continued to miss, barely scraping past the trickster every time.

Be Faster.

His efforts redoubled, and he finally managed to land a solid blow on Discord's gut, the shock on the spirit's face lighting a flame within Storm's chest.

Unfortunately, he could not capitalize on it. As the ground erupted beneath him, a solid fist of earth crashed against his stomach, sending him flying backward into the surrounding trees. He impacted a tree hard enough to knock the damn thing over, feeling something in his back break in the process.

He hissed in pain, the searing sensation running across his back and over onto his still injured chest.

He'd likely die if he kept fighting in his steadily worsening condition.

But That Didn't Matter.

He tore himself free from the fallen branches and leaves and burst through the foliage to face Discord again. Unlike before, Discord didn't dodge, choosing instead to raise a shield that hadn't existed a second before-to block his attack, his hoof causing a massive dent to mar its features.

Duck.

Storm avoided the razor-sharp blade that soared through the space his head had just vacated.

Unfortunately, the movement left Storm slightly defenseless, allowing Discord's long tail to curl around the shield and grab Emerald by the leg. He was thrown vertically into the sky with a twirl, fit with a skirt and pom poms on Discord's part.

He cursed and growled, trying in vain to gain some control over his unplanned flight. Alas, his arm was far too injured, broken, and likely more than a few muscles in his back torn from his interactions with Discord.

Dammit! I can't fight this guy! But it's not like I can run either!

Though he was spinning through the air, he did manage to spot Discord on the ground, most likely just waiting for gravity to bring the Jedi Knight back to him, so he could do... whatever it was that Discord did.

I-I can't beat this guy! It doesn't matter what I do! All I can do is stall for time! The fact that Discord actively sought me out like this proves that the Elements are in the castle!

Eventually, Discord tired of waiting for his fall, choosing to teleport himself right above Storm, lashing out with a devastating axe kick, sending the injured Jedi rocketing back down.

He didn't bother acknowledging how his other arm broke or how his chest, which had taken the brunt of the kick despite having been previously injured, began to sear, several more ribs having broken from the hit. The pain continued growing, burning him from the inside out! It ripped and tore at him until-It Didn't Matter-he tossed it aside.

Every second he spent keeping Discord here was a second more for Twilight to realize that she and the other six had been duped.

But it was clear. Try as he might, standing took nearly every ounce of strength left in his body at this point. Every motion, no matter how minuscule, sent tremors of pain through his body. Every broken bone, every torn muscle, all of it had been done within so small a span that even trying to continue this fight would be synonymous with suicide.

How could he protect them if he was dead?

How could he see his family if he wasn't alive?

How could he Survive if he failed to Endure?

That pain, that fear...

Nothing would stand in his way.

He Swore it.

His Goal was clear.

Stall.

"The Elements... they're in Equis, aren't they?" he asked, spitting out a glob of blood. Discord chuckled.

"Why, yes, they are. In a little book in the castle library, to be specific. Though you already knew that, of course."

"Right... and so you decided to attack me, to keep me from getting there. Why? I'm not an Element, I can't use the damn things, and you could easily keep me from returning with them." Discord only smirked.

"Who said anything about keeping you from the Elements?" he asked, a single elongated fang peeking out from his lip, "Why it was mere luck that you happened to head out to gather the Elements of Harmony when I decided to pop in for a check-up," he admitted, causing Storm to frown, "Don't believe me?" Discord asked, holding a claw to his chest, "Oh, you wound me so. But I'm no liar, you see," he began to float in midair, pulling out a deck of cards, "A trickster," he pulled out a card, whose image depicted him in a purple and brown robe, "A riddler," card with him in a green suit with a series of question marks, "A jester," a purple and gold jester costume, "oh yes! I'm all of those things, there's no doubt," he said, before tossing aside the cards, ignoring the way they exploded once they hit the ground, "But I'm no liar. I may twist my words around, but outright lying isn't as fun. A riddle or a puzzle give me my entertainment and have the added bonus of tormenting those wretched little humans," he finished, snarling at the end.

Storm frowned, "You seem... particularly hateful when it comes to humans. Is there... a reason?"

Discord scoffed, "You don't know the half of it."

"Enlighten me."

Discord regarded him lazily and smirked.

"You're trying to stall me, so your little girlfriend and her pals can figure out that the maze is worthless," he said, smirking, then shrugged, "Alright then, I'll humor you."

The Jedi Knight frowned.

What happened to 'I won't make it easy for you'?

"I'd rather not tell you my life story, so I won't. But in simple terms, these humans took someone from me," Discord began, his relatively jovial expression twisting into hostility, "Someone that meant the world to me. I understand that before that, I was a bit of a monster. Still, for once in my eternal life, I changed. Of my own volition, no less," he threw out his arms, "And what did that get me? Her death, that's what!" he snarled, now staring at the sky, "We had a wonderful life together. My darling Unity," he crooned, clasping his claws together, his expression softening for a moment before it snapped back into fury, "then he came along and tainted them! Their magic became a mere shell of what it once was!" he turned his gaze back unto Storm, the furious look in his eyes replaced by something... unrecognizable, "Sirens were once gentle creatures, you know? They sang beautiful songs for all to hear for no reason other than they loved to sing. Their music was magical. It generated positive feelings in all who heard, and their magic, in turn, was nourished by the positivity it created. Then one day," he turned around, his gaze, presumably, locking on something in the distance, something too far away for the boy to see, "he appeared. He offered them strength in return for the secrets to their magic and their support for war against Equis. My darling Unity, the Siren Queen, refused, of course. She, like most sirens, adored the humans. They, like them, were a positive race. Generally free of conflict and hate, now that they discovered the 'Magic of Friendship' or whatever," he scoffed.

"He was angry and cursed my beloved and her kind. What once brought happiness and joy could only bring hate and anger," Discord said, returning his eyes to Storm's flat expression, "He corrupted their very magic. Like most magical beings, their lives were dependent on their magic. Without it, they shrivel up and die. There's no stopping it. No changing it. It's a simple fact of life," he looked distinctly sad now as he turned his head down, eyes staring straight into the dirt, "but they tried," he whispered, "they tried so hard, but they just kept dying. Eventually, they had no choice but to embrace their new lot in life. Some began to revel in this change, but most hated it. My Unity was one of them. She begged the humans for their help. She begged and pleaded for decades on end, but they never responded. And then they attacked them."

The World grew heavy. A pressure that bore down upon the World and threatened to crush them all slowly poured out of Discord's body.

A titanic weight, raw, uncontrolled.

Fury.

Rage.

"They came and killed them. All of them. I tried to stop them, but they saw me as a monster in my attempts and attacked me. My Unity, my darling Unity, took the blow meant for me." he began to shake, causing the World around them to do the same, "She died in my arms. She died because those humans couldn't spare a moment, a message, couldn't spare anything to help them when she begged! THEY KILLED MY CONCORDIA IN COLD BLOOD. REVENGE WAS ALL I HAD!" he roared, then suddenly froze, his voice falling into a deathly whisper, "It was sweet. To see them suffer in the way I suffered. To see their Hope fall into the deepest Abyss," he took a deep breath and looked back up, "Of course, I couldn't let that be the end. My Unity had always wanted a family, even though I could never give her one."

The World grew light again as the abnormal pressure faded.

"Hmph... so much for not giving you my life story," Discord muttered, though he didn't seem bothered by it, "Well? Anything else you'd like to 'stall' me with?" he asked, placing his claws on his hips, or whatever passed for it on his body.

Storm blinked and swallowed the lump in his throat.

That was terrifying.

"You seem... oddly okay with me stalling you," Storm pointed out. Discord smirked once more and even chuckled a bit.

"Oh, please. Being in two places at once is foal's play for someone like me."

... Shit.

"Besides, you are a Jedi. I'm willing to give you a bit of leeway. Well, right now. Later, however..." he let the sentence hang.

"I'm surprised you're as... cordial as you are," Storm said carefully, "I figured that, if that story of yours is to be believed, then you'd be going on quite the murderous rampage," he said. Discord stared at him and laughed.

Actually laughed.

"BAHAHAHAHAHAH! AHAHAHHEHEHEAHAHA!"

The boy's eye twitched as he watched the spirit begin to convulse and fall to the ground, clutching his stomach all the while.

Discord continued laughing for a moment before finally collecting himself, standing up while wiping aside a tear.

"Oh dear, oh my, that was funny!" he said, before taking a breath and nodding, "But yes! You're right. A murderous rampage does sound therapeutic right about now..." he trailed off for a moment, looking off to the side, then shook his head, "But no, I got all that murderous fury out of my system millennia ago. Plus, several thousand years trapped in stone with nothing to do but solve all your own mental problems can do wonders for your health," he said, then shook his paw in a so-so manner, "aside from all the insanity, of course."

"But then... why not just kill us?" Storm asked, finally getting to something that had, admittedly, been on his mind for some time now, "The Elements are the only thing that can stop you... so why not just kill the Bearers? Why let them... try?"

Discord smiled softly and clasped his claws together in front of him.

"Ah! That is an excellent question! I was wondering when you'd get to that. The answer is quite simple, you see..." he said, letting the silence build for a moment before speaking, "I can't. I can no more destroy the Elements, and their Bearers, than they can destroy me."

"What?" Storm asked. Discord sighed.

"It's not hard to understand, you know," he said, crossing his arms, "The Elements of Harmony come from something humans call the Tree of Harmony. The problem is that the 'Tree of Harmony' isn't actually its name. You see, humans tend to have issues naming things that already have names."

"The... Tree of Harmony?"

"Quite! Its actual name is the Tree of Order. Now, the Elements of Harmony are from the Tree, that part the humans got right," he said, wagging his finger, "but something they don't know is that I also was born from the Tree."

"What."

"Exactly!" Discord gushed, throwing his arms out, "Is it so surprising that I, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, was created by the same thing that made the Elements of Regular Harmony? I say " Elements, " but there was only one in the beginning."

"Only one?" Storm asked, furrowing his brow, "What do you mean, 'only one'? Everyone knows that there are Six Elements, and there's always been six." Discord sighed and shook his head,

"Oh yes, and who told you that? Twilight's father? Her ancestors? Well, they're wrong!" Discord snapped and huffed, "Honestly... can't they get anything right?"

"Anyways, yes, there used to only be one. It wasn't long after the Element of Kindness was made that I was born. Ah, to be young and stupid again," Discord said wistfully before giving a sarcastic frown, "It took almost two hundred years before someone found out about the Element and used it to seal me back in the Tree. Honestly, I was only causing a few natural disasters, yet everyone seemed to freak out. Thankfully a few thousand years later, I managed to break free, stronger than ever! Ahh... such glorious chaos. I was still inexperienced back then. I didn't quite know what 'holding back' meant. It was only two hundred years before someone else found the Element of Harmony and challenged me again. Unfortunately for them, the Element wasn't strong enough. Unlike me, it couldn't gather any energy to make itself stronger without a proper Bearer. But then they had to go and awaken a Second Element!" Discord said, sounding exasperated, "I was a fool, of course. I didn't realize that the Second Element, the Element of Loyalty, made their magic so much stronger, and I was sealed back into the Tree. The next time I broke out, I found that my memories had become spotty. I knew the Elements of Harmony had stopped me, but I didn't know how. Not that I cared, I was stronger than ever before!... Again. One hundred years later and the Element of Generosity appeared. And the cycle continued, awakening the Element of Honesty. Then Laughter a few thousand years later."

"Every defeat made my memory spotty. I could recall being defeated by the Elements, but I could never recall that there was always one more that made my defeat possible. During my sixth stint of freedom, I ended up doing something different. I met someone, a siren named... well, you can guess what happened after that. I fell for her, she was killed, and I took revenge on the humans. Three hundred years. My longest period of freedom yet! I was more experienced and more... experimental during that reign. But then, of course, they had to awaken the Sixth Element, the Element of Magic."

"But... they did something different." he said, suddenly getting excited, "They didn't seal me away in the Tree. Oh no... they encased me in stone instead! All those years encased in that wretched little prison shifted my mental state back and forth so much that I managed to break through the blocks in my memory. Now, not only am I stronger, but now I remember," he said, suddenly beginning to take a few steps towards Storm, who unconsciously began taking steps backward, "I remember my defeats. I remember how they happened. How each new Element was unlocked... what kind of individuals unlocked them... how they were brought together. And why wouldn't I?" he asked, frowning, "After all, the Elements of Harmony can only affect their Bearers, me, and those infected by my magic.

"Now, we're getting off track..."

The boy swallowed and backed away further as Discord continued his approach,

"What track?" Storm asked, beginning to dart his eyes around for possible escape routes. He didn't like how Discord continued to stalk towards him, how his eyes focused on his own, and how he didn't like being helpless.

"I told you," he began, his claws beginning to spark wildly as the air became saturated with the taste of magic, "I know how the Elements work. I know how they're brought together. How a new one is made and, quite frankly... I won't allow a Seventh one to appear," he snarled, raising his left paw over his right shoulder, "Die."

The World Shrieked.

A wave of harsh, overflowing light erupted into the World, cascading over the injured Jedi. In the brief instant where sensation existed, his entire Reality was set alight by burning pain.

His skin melted.

His blood boiled.

His body failed.

And the world went white.

Author's Note: It's here! I hope you all like what I did with Discord, let's just say that it's not gonna be as easy as our heroes did with Nightmare Moon to defeat him. To put things into perspective, he not only made Velvet be under his control and is fighting Night Light, but he did a number on Storm. Broke his arm, though based on the ending of the chapter, I don't a broken limb is going to be the least of his worries. Not to mention, it doesn't looks like Storm will make it to the next chapter. Also a little background story on Discord himself and what drove him to be who he is.

Anyways, hope you all are having fun, we've only just started. As always, leave a review expressing your thoughts and comments. On a side note, this arc will have the most curses and descriptions of violence so far. So expect to feel a lot of emotions when reading this arc.